DraftKings Set to Open Its First Retail Sportsbook in Mississippi

DraftKings is heading to Mississippi next as it prepares to open its first ever retail sportsbook at the Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville near the Gulf Coast on Friday. DraftKings has made moves of this sort in other states, but its sportsbook in Mississippi will be its first retail location to actually go live.

Scarlet Pearl CEO LuAnn Pappas told Bloomberg this morning that partnering with DraftKings will grant the casino additional capabilities to offer a wide range of bets that the casino would otherwise have had trouble managing on its own.

“We’re going to be able to offer a lot of different bets that it would have been very difficult for us to do on our own,” she said.

“We are excited to introduce DraftKings, a ‘New Way’ to game for our current and future guests. Our collaboration with DraftKings is an opportunity for us to continue to set high standards on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and give our players a new home for sports betting.”

The new sportsbook will be located at the existing PRL Bar, which DraftKings says it will transform into “a multi-screen betting and social destination for sports lovers.” DraftKings says it plans to cover dozens of sports and will eventually offer in-play betting at the sportsbook’s three windows.

DraftKings says it also has plans to install self-service betting kiosks and to enable mobile wagering for customers physically present at the casino, pending regulatory approval. Current Mississippi sports betting regulations do not permit statewide mobile betting, but DraftKings will certainly be ready to expand the reach of its mobile app should that change.

DraftKings Now Has Operations or Inroads in Four States

DraftKings first made its name in daily fantasy sports and became a leader in that industry before getting into actual sports betting earlier this year after New Jersey legalized sports betting.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting ban, DraftKings has been busily securing its place in the post-PASPA market. DraftKings now has active sportsbooks or has at least secured a place in four states to date:

Mississippi

New Jersey

New York

West Virginia

The Friday launch of DraftKings Sportsbook in Mississippi represents the company’s first full-on launch in a new state since opening its mobile betting site in New Jersey. DraftKings will be joining an active sports betting market in Mississippi where sports betting first got underway in August.

In New Jersey, DraftKings Mobile offers online betting to customers located throughout the state under an online gaming license held by Resorts Casino. Business has been good for DraftKings NJ since the launch of sports betting. Largely with the help of DraftKings, Resorts Digital commands a dominant lead in total sports betting revenue to date.

DraftKings has also made inroads in New York in anticipation of the Empire State fully legalizing sports betting. Back in July, DraftKings reached an agreement with del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo. New York does have laws in place making sports betting legal, but operators are still waiting for the state to issue regulations governing the activity.

DraftKings has also established itself in West Virginia to a degree. DraftKings applied for a WV sports betting license in August and was granted approval the following month, but has yet to find a land-based partner as required by state law.

With operations in two states and potential in two more, DraftKings is situating itself to become a major player in the regulated US sports betting market. As more states join the party, don’t be surprised to see DraftKings in the mix one way or another. The company has not only name recognition, but also a massive database of active sports fans courtesy of its booming fantasy sports business.